Forgiveness

I have been hugely inspired recently by a book called Spontaneous Evolution. So much so that I’ve been talking everyone’s ear off about it. I truly believe it’s a must-read for anyone interested in individual growth and creating a shift in our world. It puts the history of where we’ve come from, and how we have landed in the mess that we are in today, so clearly. But its true offering is that it gives guidelines as to how to get out of that mess. There is a way and that gives me so much hope for our future. Nothing interests me more than how we may be able to continue to move forward and expand our human potential. The opening of the book poses a powerful question…

“What if everything you’ve ever thought about yourself (and the world) is wrong?” 

Spiffy opener right?

From the new science around how the mind develops and works we can come to the conclusion that most of us have a misguided and topsy-turvy view on reality. And here’s why: before the age of six we haven’t developed any self-awareness yet. This means we have no capacity to discern any information that is coming at us from the outer world. We are literally just downloading ideas and notions from the people and world around us. So our perspective of life and how we fit into the world is learned before we have the ability to be able to choose any differently. Our beliefs are handed to us and we take them as true because that’s all we are given.

This wouldn’t be such a problem if what was being downloaded into our sponge-like brains was actually true. The problem is, most of what we learn during that precious developmental time is based on misperceptions. Then we grow up with these misperceptions and they often develop into self-sabotaging and self-limiting beliefs and behaviours. I’m sure that sounds familiar, as we are practically all in the same boat. Plus, they are downloaded into our subconscious, which is where approximately 95% of our emotions and behaviour stems from. So even though we think we are self-aware, free-thinking individuals, we are only that about 5% of the time. The rest of the time we are running off the programs.

Even though this may sound really daunting, it’s actually fantastic news. Because if everything was downloaded into us without choice (which it was), then any program can be re-programmed. Our yoga practice is the rich body-mind practice to do just that. Through yoga we continuously take ourselves back to what we are doing and come to a place of self-awareness. When we do that we are creating new neural pathways in our brain. So even though we didn’t choose the programming that we have, we now have incredible power to shift those programs through where we place our attention. 

A good analogy is if you were to run across a field the same way every time, then that would start to create a clear path. And each time you ran that way the path would get deeper. This is how our thoughts affect our brain. Without a mindfulness practice, the old pathways (the programs) just get deeper. This is how we can continue to do the same things over and over even though those actions cause us huge suffering. But the brain is like that field. We can make a different path. It takes practise, openness and work. But it’s work worth doing because we are rewiring our way towards freedom.

But even more good news is this: If everything was downloaded into us without choice (which it was), then we can afford ourselves a HUGE amount of forgiveness for any behaviour that has stemmed from those programmed misperceptions. We can finally put the proverbial whip DOWN. Plus, we can also extend an equal amount of forgiveness to those people who taught us the misperceptions, because they were given the same misperceptions too. This new technology around our brain development paves the way for what spiritual teachers have been saying for eons… Forgive the transgressions of others. And forgive yourself.

If we can separate those programs from our sense of self and self-worth than forgiveness becomes so much more accessible to us, and so does healing. We all want to feel free; forgiveness helps us find that. We all want to be empowered and feel open to life and love; forgiveness helps us to get to that place. It is the pathway that allows us to be liberated from the shackles of the past so we don’t keep dragging that old stuff into our future. 

Forgiveness also allows us to live more in our hearts than in our heads. The view of the world from the heart is spectacular! The heart has no self-limiting stories or misguided ideas of who we are. The healing we create through forgiveness softens the hardness around our hearts and allows them to open. From there we can live more freely and embrace life as it is and not how we were programmed to see it. 

In the tantric tradition these misperceptions (programs) are called impurities. But this is not meant to suggest that we are ‘impure’ in some way. Rather it’s like wearing glasses that are really dirty or fogged up so we can’t see reality. Our practice dissolves these impurities (or cleans our lenses). The more time we spend in the open investigation of the now moment, the clearer our view becomes. 

So many of us are travelling through life without investigation or the cultivation of self-awareness. And the crazy thing is we will go to war (in our personal lives and on a global scale) in defense of the beliefs we didn't even choose. What our planet needs right now are courageous souls who are willing to look beyond their personal programming and awaken from that illusion in order to see clearly. 

So to leave you with some contemplations… Can you be willing to admit that your world view is not the ‘right one’ and be open to broadening your views in the name of connection and unity? Can you be open to the fact that everyone you interact with and are in relationship with is also challenged by their own programs that were handed to them? So therefore, you could possibly extend some kindness and forgiveness towards them?

I invite you to think about the contents of this blog deeply. Ponder it. Meditate. Question. Don’t take what you were taught as a given. Be a seeker of truth and liberation. It IS possible to be free and empowered. Because you are not your thoughts, you are not your past, and you are not your behaviour. You are so much deeper than that, and more expansive than that. And anything that tells you otherwise… is a misperception. 

Lastly, if there is anything to forgive, forgive it. I know that’s not easy but make a start in that direction because this is ultimately what we are all here to do; to forgive, heal, grow and evolve, so we can create a better world. 

This is our collective purpose and our legacy. 

Yours in Yoga,
Aimee xx